Post modification of zinc based coordination polymer to prepare Zn‐Mo‐ICP nanoparticles as efficient self‐supported catalyst for olefin epoxidation

Preparation, characterization, and catalytic properties of bimetallic coordination polymer constructed from 2‐aminoterephthalic acid as linker, zinc cations as node, and cis‐dioxo molybdenum units as catalytic active sites are reported via two pathways. Molybdenum centers were placed in N,O positions created by condensation reaction of 2‐aminoterephthalic acid with salicylaldehyde while zinc cations coordinated via carboxylic acid groups of linker to achieve infinite chains of metalo‐ligand. The obtained coordination polymer was fully characterized and its catalytic properties in the epoxidation of olefins with tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) described. In comparison with previously reported heterogenized molybdenum catalysts, this new coordination polymer exhibited good conversion as well as high selectivity in the epoxidation of olefins. The catalyst is stable under ambient conditions and could be reused as active catalyst for at least five times.     

On the accuracy of a nonlinear finite volume method for the solution of diffusion problems using different interpolations strategies

In this paper, we consider a nonlinear finite volume method to solve the steady‐state diffusion equation in nonhomogeneous and non‐isotropic media. The method is nonlinear even if the original problem is linear. In its original form, the scheme is monotone, because the coefficient matrix is monotone under certain assumptions and, as a consequence, whenever the analytic operator demands, it preserves the positivity of numerical solutions. On the other hand, the scheme is unable to reproduce piecewise linear solutions exactly. In order to recover this interesting feature, we use two different interpolation strategies. In this case, even though we are unable to prove monotonicity, we show some numerical evidences that the combined method has an improved behavior, producing second order accurate solutions, even for nonhomogeneous and strongly anisotropic media. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rational Construction of an Exceptionally Stable MOF Catalyst with Metal-Adeninate Vertices toward CO2 Cycloaddition under Mild and Cocatalyst-Free Conditions

CO₂ is considered as the primary greenhouse gas, resulting in a series of serious environmental problems that affect people's life and health. Carbon capture and sequestration has been implemented as one of the most appealing pathways to control and use CO₂. Here, we rationally integrate various functional sites within the confined nanospace of a microporous metal–organic framework (MOF) material, which is constructed by mixed-ligand strategy based on metal-adeninate vertices. It not only exhibits excellent stability but also can efficiently transform CO₂ and epoxides to cyclic carbonates under mild and cocatalyst-free conditions. Additionally, this catalyst shows extraordinary recyclability for the CO₂ cycloaddition reaction.     

Single‐Atom Gold Catalysis in the Context of Developments in Parahydrogen‐Induced Polarization

A highly isolated monoatomic gold catalyst, with single gold atoms dispersed on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), has been synthesized, characterized, and tested in heterogeneous hydrogenation of 1,3‐butadiene and 1‐butyne with parahydrogen to maximize the polarization level and the contribution of the pairwise hydrogen addition route. The Au/MWCNTs catalyst was found to be active and efficient in pairwise hydrogen addition and the estimated contributions from the pairwise hydrogen addition route are at least an order of magnitude higher than those for supported metal nanoparticle catalysts. Therefore, the use of the highly isolated monoatomic catalysts is very promising for production of hyperpolarized fluids that can be used for the significant enhancement of NMR signals. A mechanism of 1,3‐butadiene hydrogenation with parahydrogen over the highly isolated monoatomic Au/MWCNTs catalyst is also proposed.     

Facile Synthesis of Ultrathin Bimetallic PtSn Wavy Nanowires by Nanoparticle Attachment as Enhanced Hydrogenation Catalysts

Ultrathin wavy nanowires represent an emerging class of nanostructures that exhibit unique catalytic, magnetic, and electronic properties, but the controlled production of bimetallic wavy nanowires remains a significant challenge. Ultrathin bimetallic PtSn nanowires have been prepared with high yield and featuring a highly wavy structure. Owing to the ultrathin nature and unique electronic properties of these PtSn wavy nanowires, they exhibit improved catalytic performance for the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene, as well as for the hydrogenation of styrene. These results suggest a new strategy to prepare highly active catalysts through defect engineering and can significantly impact broad practical applications.     

Cascade Synthesis of Pyrroles from Nitroarenes with Benign Reductants Using a Heterogeneous Cobalt Catalyst

A bifunctional 3d-metal catalyst for the cascade synthesis of diverse pyrroles from nitroarenes is presented. The optimal catalytic system Co/NGr-C@SiO₂-L is obtained by pyrolysis of a cobalt-impregnated composite followed by subsequent selective leaching. In the presence of this material, (transfer) hydrogenation of easily available nitroarenes and subsequent Paal–Knorr/Clauson-Kass condensation provides >40 pyrroles in good to high yields using dihydrogen, formic acid, or a CO/H₂O mixture (WGSR conditions) as reductant. In addition to the favorable step economy, this straightforward domino process does not require any solvents or external co-catalysts. The general synthetic utility of this methodology was demonstrated on a variety of functionalized substrates including the preparation of biologically active and pharmaceutically relevant compounds, for example, (+)-Isamoltane.     

Synthesis of 5‐substituted 1H‐tetrazoles using a recyclable heterogeneous nanonickel ferrite catalyst

An efficient method was developed for the [2 + 3] cycloaddition of sodium azide with nitriles to afford 5‐substituted 1H‐tetrazoles using nanonickel ferrite (NiFe₂O₄) as an effective heterogeneous catalyst in dimethylformamide. The main advantages of this method are high yields, simple methodology and easy work‐up. The catalyst can be recovered and reused for several cycles with predictable activity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A lightweight cell switching and traffic offloading scheme for energy optimization in ultra-dense heterogeneous networks

One of the major capacity boosters for 5G networks is the deployment of ultra-dense heterogeneous networks (UDHNs). However, this deployment results in a tremendous increase in the energy consumption of the network due to the large number of base stations (BSs) involved. In addition to enhanced capacity, 5G networks must also be energy efficient for it to be economically viable and environmentally friendly. Dynamic cell switching is a very common way of reducing the total energy consumption of the network, but most of the proposed methods are computationally demanding, which makes them unsuitable for application in ultra-dense network deployment with massive number of BSs. To tackle this problem, we propose a lightweight cell switching scheme also known as Threshold-based Hybrid cEll swItching Scheme (THESIS) for energy optimization in UDHNs. The developed approach combines the benefits of clustering and exhaustive search (ES) algorithm to produce a solution whose optimality is close to that of the ES (which is guaranteed to be optimal), but is computationally more efficient than ES and as such can be applied for cell switching in real networks even when their dimension is large. The performance evaluation shows that THESIS significantly reduces the energy consumption of the UDHN and can reduce the complexity of finding a near-optimal solution from exponential to polynomial complexity.     

Piperidine‐functionalized silica: an efficient and environmentally benign catalyst for Claisen–Schmidt condensation

Piperidine‐functionalized silica as a basic heterogeneous catalyst was synthesized via a simple protocol by condensing silica chloride with piperidine. The catalyst was characterized with various techniques (FT‐IR, solid state NMR, scanning electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray, thermogravimetric, elemental, and NH₃ and CO₂ temperature‐programmed desorption analyses). Surface area was also evaluated through Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis. Its catalytic activity was evaluated for Claisen–Schmidt condensation under solvent‐free conditions. The catalyst was easily recovered and reused up to five cycles without considerable loss of activity and was not deactivated due to amide formation. Also, this method has attractive advantages such as short reaction time, mild reaction conditions, good to excellent yield of products, easy handling of the catalyst and simple operational procedure. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.